Its been five years since twin blasts near the Boston Marathons finish line changed thousands of lives forever.

Since then, survivors of the April 15, 2013, attack have endured surgeries, post-traumatic stress and hearing loss. Theyve had to relearn how to walk and to rebuild their lives.

Theyve also written books, launched charitable organizations, run more marathons, had babies, and developed lifelong and even romantic relationships with their heroes. They proved to be Boston Strong.

HuffPost recently caught up with five of these incredible people. Here are their stories.

Rebekah Gregory